Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday stressed the need to test soil so that farmers could grow the right crop and improve their chances of getting better yield and income.
Speaking at the fourth State conference of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) here on Saturday, he said that he had reiterated the need for soil testing mandatory at all meetings with officials during his visits to 28 districts in Tamil Nadu. “If it is not done, I will again review it and discuss the matter with the Chief Minister as I think it is absolutely necessary,” he said.
To highlight the importance, Mr. Purohit shared his personal experience of incurring a loss of ₹10 lakh when the 1,500 orange trees he grew in his family’s 90 acre farm in Nagpur failed to bear fruit even after seven years. When he finally tested the soil with the help of National Centre for Citrus Research in Nagpur, it was found that the soil was not suited for oranges.
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Stating that the present Union government was implementing several schemes for the benefit of farmers, he urged the farmers to utilise them effectively. For instance, he said that since lack of water was an issue in many areas, farmers must shift to drip irrigation system, for which the government was providing attractive subsidies.
Similarly, he urged farmers to make use of other schemes like Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme, National Agriculture Market, and Soil Health Card. He highlighted the need for farmers to practice poultry, dairy farming and fish farming along with agriculture to ensure that they get stable income.
L. Murugan, Vice-Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, stressed the need for revamping the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme so that farmers did not have trouble in finding farm labour.
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I. N. Basavegowda, national president, BKS, K. R. Sundararajan, State president, BKS, and Swami Sivayogananda of Chinmaya Mission addressed the gathering.